I'm looking into getting a set of Gator Standard Hard Cases with the optional foam paddng on the inside. I don't have any experience with Gator Cases so I'm wondering what those of you that use them think of them?

I fell for the Gator attractiveness of the low price on eBay and I will never trust them again. The foam lining on the ones I got began to corrode the metal bits on one of my drums after leaving it in the case for only a day!

I tried to contact Gator to see if they would right the situation and I never received any kind of response. I ended up being up front and frank about the cases when I sold them on eBay and sold the whole lot of four cases for $75 just to get rid of them. The new owner knew he needed to take out the foam lining, did that, and he loves them now.

As previously posted, they may have gotten their act together but I would be wary. I had used Humes&Berg Enduro hard cases withOUT foam in the past and that's who I went back to when I had to replace the Gator cases. I had debated SKB but having a foam lining so turned me off after the Gator debacle that I decided against it, although friends of mine have the SKB cases and they're great (they're also the most expensive too).

I would avoid Gator drum hard cases, and spend a little more for either the H&B's or the SKB's.

Avoid Gater and personally I recommend going SKB, they are only a few dollars more per case and their customer service is second to none. If you need to just buy them one at a time as you can afford them or look for good used ones. Dont matter about a few scratches on the outside as long as the locks are good and usually the lining stays good in them anyway. BTW I have an 8" SKB I would part with, my drums have RIMS mounts and its made for an 8 without a suspension mount.

I feel sorry for Gator. I asked them whether my case might be one of the bad ones and they admitted it (in an email) so that was noble enough. Not sure if the rust spots on my chad smith are from being in my old practice room or the case but it doesn't seem to be getting worse.

I got a set of SKB on tards advice (among other helpful members) and they're very nice.

Tard, I wanna ask you, with RIMS, how much bigger does the case need to be than the drum diameter? Reason being I was thinking of fitting RIMS to my sonor drums and I already have oversized cases to fit my Saturns.

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Originally Posted by Matt Bo Eder

if not for my own "self-indulgent rubbish" what else is the internet good for?

Tard, I wanna ask you, with RIMS, how much bigger does the case need to be than the drum diameter? Reason being I was thinking of fitting RIMS to my sonor drums and I already have oversized cases to fit my Saturns.

Next size up on the smaller ones but once you get to 14 they make the regular tom case and also a floor tom case that has a larger diameter which should work fine but do some measuring just to be sure as all the sizes are on their site or just give them a call if need be.

I've never used Gator but I used SKB and Hardcase. In my opinion, both SKB and Hardcase will do a good job of protecting your drums. SKB are a bit more finished and have more features, so they do cost more. In the US, it's moot since Hardcases aren't available in the US any more.

I fell for the Gator attractiveness of the low price on eBay and I will never trust them again. The foam lining on the ones I got began to corrode the metal bits on one of my drums after leaving it in the case for only a day!

I tried to contact Gator to see if they would right the situation and I never received any kind of response. I ended up being up front and frank about the cases when I sold them on eBay and sold the whole lot of four cases for $75 just to get rid of them. The new owner knew he needed to take out the foam lining, did that, and he loves them now.

As previously posted, they may have gotten their act together but I would be wary. I had used Humes&Berg Enduro hard cases withOUT foam in the past and that's who I went back to when I had to replace the Gator cases. I had debated SKB but having a foam lining so turned me off after the Gator debacle that I decided against it, although friends of mine have the SKB cases and they're great (they're also the most expensive too).

I would avoid Gator drum hard cases, and spend a little more for either the H&B's or the SKB's.

This is one of the problems with using Chinese labor and materials. People and pets have DIED using Chinese products so this doesn't surprise me.

Thanks tard. This whole Gator debacle has got me worried about any off-gassing from glue used in securing case lining, although I can not find one complaint about SKB cases damaging drums like Gator. But if you search, you will find numerous complaints about SKB guitar and archery cases giving off a stench. I've even found someone who says their SKB drum cases smell. Humes and Berg Enduro seem to be the best unlined cases I've come across, but good luck finding them where I am (outside the USA).

I am gonna bet its just the smell of the molded plastic and stuff when they are new and with most drum cases being standard sizes and ordered in bulk quantities by the distributer they are probably a few months old by the time we get them but with guitar and archery cases they are probably special ordered by the dealer and fairly new when they arrive and still have that new car smell so to speak...lol, We have a plastics plant here that used to make the Sabian molded cymbal case and the new ones right off the line smelled pretty strong but by the time they got warehoused then shipped to Sabian then shipped to the distributer and then to the store there was no smell left.

At one point in time I got a set of SKB cases and I question why you would need the foam lining in the cases. All the years I've had the Humes & Bergs without lining and my drums were never damaged - the idea for me is to keep the drum from taking a hit from something that might roll around in the back of the truck - and the H&B's deflect stuff really well, in addition to being water proof. I've had a small tom fall off the back of my truck in the H&B unlined and it suffered no damage as the case absorbs the shock, and again, keeps the drum from hitting anything that would damage it.

At one point in time I got a set of SKB cases and I question why you would need the foam lining in the cases. All the years I've had the Humes & Bergs without lining and my drums were never damaged - the idea for me is to keep the drum from taking a hit from something that might roll around in the back of the truck - and the H&B's deflect stuff really well, in addition to being water proof. I've had a small tom fall off the back of my truck in the H&B unlined and it suffered no damage as the case absorbs the shock, and again, keeps the drum from hitting anything that would damage it.

My bass drum case is a HARDCASE brand with no lining and the lacquer finish on the hoops was starting to get scuffed/dulled from rubbing against the plastic case, the case was tight but the plastic is smooth and the drum moves to one side then the vibrations from transporting are enough to scuff the finish like you rubbed it with a scotch brite pad, I ended up buying a padded bag to use as a liner to protect the finish. Now as I can afford it I have been replacing all my cases with padded SKB and will never buy anything else and wish I had of just bought them to begin with.

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Originally Posted by 017

Indeed. Since I'm looking for cases/bags for long-term storage, I'd rather avoid any hard case with a glued-in lining. I also hear that foam liners (regardless of brand) have the tendency to break-down and/or rot over time...

I bought 2 used SKB old style cases (clam shell type) that are probably 20+ years old and other than a couple small tears the lining is still just like new.

My bass drum case is a HARDCASE brand with no lining and the lacquer finish on the hoops was starting to get scuffed/dulled from rubbing against the plastic case, the case was tight but the plastic is smooth and the drum moves to one side then the vibrations from transporting are enough to scuff the finish like you rubbed it with a scotch brite pad, I ended up buying a padded bag to use as a liner to protect the finish. Now as I can afford it I have been replacing all my cases with padded SKB and will never buy anything else and wish I had of just bought them to begin with.

I bought 2 used SKB old style cases (clam shell type) that are probably 20+ years old and other than a couple small tears the lining is still just like new.

That's interesting, I've never experienced scuffed or dulled lacquer as a result of rubbing inside an unlined case. And I have lacquered drums with lacquered hoops. I'll have to keep a keen eye to see if this develops with my new kit.

Indeed. Since I'm looking for cases/bags for long-term storage, I'd rather avoid any hard case with a glued-in lining. I also hear that foam liners (regardless of brand) have the tendency to break-down and/or rot over time... That's why I'm almost certainly set on Protection Racket's AAA line (no glue, and they help resist atmospheric fluctuations). If I could get my hands on a set of Humes & Berg Enduro's, I'd probably go that route (in their mottled Ocean finish). But as far as I know, the only H&B products sold where I am are Stonelined Mutes. H&B are apparently a nightmare to deal with anyway, so that kind of eliminates them as an option in the first place.

I just hope my SKB Cymbal Vault I've got on order doesn't stink...!

In other news, where did the thread originator go?

I'm still here, reading. Thanks all for the posts. I think I'm gonna go with the SKB's. I do have to ask though, if Gator cases really do suck so bad why do so many big name endorsers use them? I'm sure they want to keep their drums in good working order too.

I have the Humes & Berg Enduro Pro lined hard cases and have had no problems with them. I have stored drums in the cases for several months without any issues. However, note that they were stored indoors where temperature and to some degree, humidity was controlled.

Several forum members have also posted above stating that Humes & Berg's customer service was poor or non-existent. I could not disagree more based on my experience with them. I had to get a correctly sized rack tom case as the tom had a RIMs mount and the service representative at Humes & Berg did a great job following up and taking care of the exchange to get the correct case.

I also think hard cases are the way to go if you really want to protect your drums. There have been several gigs where equipment has been loaded for transport only to shift and have other things fall on top of some of the cases. I don't think in those instances a soft case would have protected the drum.

Wow. I've never seen that yet. You're right - I would avoid Gator altogether!

I dont have any of those type but a buddy of mine is a dj and both his amp racks and his board/cd player rack are all split and cracked in the corners where they got bumped in cold weather and its like the cracks spider web away from the impact area. The plastic seems to be thinner and more brittle where as most of the other case companies seem to use something more along the lines of the stuff box liners for pickup trucks are made from.

EDIT: Gator finally decided to respond to my warranty claim for a new handle for my gator g212a amp case, its just too bad I had to diss them on their facebook page before they took notice and decided to respond to all the emails I sent thru the proper channels but I guess the old adage still stands: "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".

Just wish I had of kept up the with the corrosion issue on my vintage Tama rockstars instead of giving up the fight and just selling them for peanuts. Will be interesting to see if I can get them to do anything about the faulty interlocking tracks on the gx42 utility case I have, they are now discontinued and I am guessing that issue is the reason why.

Sadly, I have an update to this topic and it is not good. I wish I had stumbled across this forum about two years ago. I purchased two Gator Hard shell snare cases back in 2010 and 2011. I had no idea about the issue with the lining and/or adhesive for the lining causing moisture damage to the drum shell and hardware. I wish I had known. I would have purchased a couple more SKB or H&B cases instead.

I have a large snare collection and these drums are stored in a combination of H&B, SKB, and Gator cases. Well now-its just SKB & H&B's !!!

So of 4 metal snares in my collection-two of them were stored in Gator cases, and two were stored in H&B cases. All cases in the same area of my house. The drums in H&B and SKB cases were fine. Stacked right next to the Gator cases.

The Gator cased snares- a GMS Brass Shell 6.5" x 14" was covered in corrosion that was of a weird mix of orange and white corrosion. The Sonor Phil Rudd Signature Snare -5x14 was also covered in a white corrosion. This was really disappointing to see! I received the Sonor drum as a xmas gift back in 2011and it only had 3-4 hours of playing time on it before I cased it and packed it away. The first time I pull it out of its case and its all corroded! Not good.

I found someone that refinishes metal drums and between the shipping and service-its gonna be around $225-$250 when it s all said and done. And that's per drum! The GMS snare looks so badly damaged that my refinishing guy is not even sure what he can do would make a difference. I hope he is wrong but for now, I am just waiting for him to start on the Sonor drum and I guess see how that turns out...

Sadly, a casual question and conversation at a drum shop this past weekend led me to finding out there was a larger known problem with Gator cases and other drummers having their prized possessions damaged by these cases. So a little research on my part and voila-I find this forum posting with links posted to document the damage that ruined many a drum.

It seems like no one has posted on this topic for roughly a year. I guess the word got out about Gator cases. I am curious if any one out there has had any more recent experience with Gator customer service? Does anyone have anything good to say about the customer service? Or a contact at Gator that is sympathetic to those of us with this problem.. were they willing to work out something with you? Were they evasive and unwilling to accept some responsibility with their faulty equipment? I get the sense from others that previously posted here that Gator was difficult to deal with.

Beyond never buying another Gator cases again, and spending to have these drums refinished, I am not sure what I plan to do with my situation in respect to dealing with Gator. Will it even be worth all the hassle???

thanks for reading & viewing the damage

I appreciate your taking time to read my story and really appreciate it if you can offer any personal experience or contacts at Gator that were helpful with your situation.

I just recently recieved a check from Gator for more than I paid for my drums. It took a yr. to get it, but it finally arrived. They referred me to their Ins. Co. I sent them pics. and they wanted a price, so I sent them a list that my dealer made, (I guess it's an invoice)of replacement parts. All of those lugs, tom mounts, claw hooks, hoops ETC. totaled up to thousands of $. I really didn't expect to get that much, but they wanted a price, so that's what I did. I think we are on the tail end of all of this. Most of the claims have probably been paid. I would sure send them an email, if I were you. Here's the person I worked with from Gator.
Alex Fedelealex@gatorcases.com

I just recently recieved a check from Gator for more than I paid for my drums. It took a yr. to get it, but it finally arrived. They referred me to their Ins. Co. I sent them pics. and they wanted a price, so I sent them a list that my dealer made, (I guess it's an invoice)of replacement parts. All of those lugs, tom mounts, claw hooks, hoops ETC. totaled up to thousands of $. I really didn't expect to get that much, but they wanted a price, so that's what I did. I think we are on the tail end of all of this. Most of the claims have probably been paid. I would sure send them an email, if I were you. Here's the person I worked with from Gator.
Alex Fedelealex@gatorcases.com

That's very cool! It shows that they are concerned! Hopefully everyone can get something.